Friday, November 22, 2013

I was pleasantly surprised to see that many of my current SparkFriends were around then and were kind enough to respond to it. I think I should revisit old blogs more often...I don't write a lot of blogs but they are usually long and bring back memories or make me realize things I should keep remembering as I continue to strive toward a healthy lifestyle!

Anyway, while I don't do the Tony Robbins Daily Magic routine that I talked about in that last blog anymore, I do try really hard to be grateful every single day for all the good things in life, even (and especially) when challenges and stress are part of my life. Finding a quiet time each day to meditate and think of all of life's blessings, as well as pray for others is important to me, and makes my days so much better!

At first I wondered what I could even add to the last thankfulness blog, but an idea eventually came to me that originated from many activities I did with my second graders over the years. I came up with an ABC list of A LOT of things. I started by jotting a few things down for each letter as I thought of them. I originally was only going to do one or two, but the list just kept on growing, and I had a lot of fun doing it. Here is my list! What things did I miss that have meaning in your life?

A – ART in all its forms , fresh AIR, A/C that keeps me cool on hot, humid days, and AIRPLANES that allow me to travel long distances in a short amount of time (like back and forth from Florida to PA this winter!)...oh, and A is for APPLES ...I do love them!

B – BEAUTY all around us , BABIES that can turn any frown upside down!, great BOOKS that I love to read, and wonderful BACKRUBS from my husband!

C – the spirit of CHRISTMAS that includes COOKIES and CAROLING , CHOCOLATE and COFFEE that are hard to do without, COMEDIES that make me laugh, people’s CREATIVITY, sincere COMPLIMENTS that make me feel good and appreciated, beautiful CLOUDS in the sky, CHANGES in our lives CHALLENGES that give me strength and determination and the COURAGE to take them on!

D – my DARLING DAD, who is so precious to me, DOGS of many breeds that always bring me joy, especially my own, DIVERSITY in people that make life interesting, excellent DOCTORS , and the pleasure from DANCING!

E – a quality EDUCATION, ELECTRICITY, which I take for granted until the power goes out! EXERCISE that keeps my body physically fit and full of ENERGY, my EYES that allow me to see, my EXPERIENCE that allows me to learn and grow, ENCOURAGEMENT from others that make me more motivated, and EMPATHY for others

F – FAMILY and FRIENDS, of course! a strong FAITH , FREEDOM, beautiful FLOWERS , FRESH FRUIT , FACEBOOK, which I enjoy checking out each day and has helped me reconnect with old friends, and FUN that allows us not to live life so seriously all the time!

G – GOD, GIRLFRIENDS to confide in and go out with, GIGGLES, and all kinds of GAMES to play.

H – my HUSBAND , who has been my partner and friend for 25 years, my good HEALTH, the wonderful HAPPY HOME I grew up in and the one I spent 23 wonderful years in with Dave and Sean and our pets, special HOLIDAYS , hands that can touch, pray and create, a sense of humor that makes life fun, warm HUGS , HONESTY, and the HELP that I both give to and receive from others.

I – the INTERNET and my I-PHONE that allow me to learn and connect with others, INDEPENDENCE to do things on my own , and ICE CREAM on summer days!

J – our JEEP with “Life is good” on the tire cover, decent JOKES that make me laugh, and lovely JEWELRY that I have received as special gifts .

K – all the cute KIDS who I enjoyed teaching for 30 years, adorable KITTENS , my thirst for KNOWLEDGE that is never-ending, KINDNESS from both friends and strangers, and long, passionate KISSES !

L –my LIFE! LOVE!!! LAUGHTER!!! my LEGS that allow me to walk, skip, hop and run , and great LEADERS.

M – my MARVELOUS MOM! MEMORIES that I hold dear, MUSIC!!! the good MANNERS and MORALS many parents teach their children, MAJESTIC MOUNTAINS, MEDICINE to ease and cure our ailments and disease, and precious MEDITATION time .

O – OPTIMISM for the future , the incredible OCEAN with all its treasures , OPPORTUNITIES for growth, and the bright color, ORANGE !

P – PEACE on earth and of mind , PETS who give unconditional love, POETRY, PATIENCE to wait for things, PHOTOGRAPHS of loved ones and past events, PLUMBING that not everyone in the world has, PINTEREST, and PIZZA !

Q – QUESTIONS to ask and answer, great and inspiring QUOTES, beautiful QUILTS, and QUIET time.

V – our country’s VETERANS, who serve and bravely protect our country, VEGGIES and VITAMINS to keep us healthy, all our wonderful VACATIONS over the years, and special VISITS from family and friends.

W – fresh, clean WATER to drink , the satisfaction of WORK well done, WONDROUS WILDLIFE , WORDS WITH FRIENDS, and a glass of good WINE !

X – hmmmm….XRAYS and XEROX machines, and the XO at the end of family and friends’ cards, emails and texts.

Y – YIN and YANG, which allows us to appreciate the good so much more by experiencing some “bad”, YOUTUBE videos, and wonderful YOGA stretches !!

…and finally…

Z –ZANINESS and ZEST for life and enough ZZZZZ’s to give me energy for a productive new day!

*I just realized that my assignment was to blog about the top 5 -10 things I am thankful for, so I guess my old blog fulfilled that one. If I had to pick the top ones from all that I wrote though, I would choose all the people in my life - family members and friends, my pets, my health, the blessing of being able to retire early and go to Florida, and this wonderful world we live in!

LAURANCE
I want to comment again. This is a goodie. I can't see a place to click and add to things saved on Spark People. So I put it into Favorites on Firefox.

I'm really trying to deal with gratitude after having it so totally trashed and poisoned. Toxic people sure can turn it into a way to obligate me and treat me like a slave. You should be grateful. YOu owe me/us.

And yet feeling joyful appreciation for some lovely thing (like my wonderful daughter who will be 51 Sunday/tomorrow) is so good and so important.1112 days ago

LAURANCE
Thank you for saying good things about gratitude. I have issues with gratitude since both my mother-in-law and AA thoroughly trashed gratitude for me and made me shudder at the very idea of feeling grateful.

I am trying to reclaim Gratitude and benefit from it rather than gritting my teeth and feeling obligated and shackled with a debt I can never repay.1112 days ago